Thanksgiving Joy :)

Well, we missed our Thanksgiving dinner at our house, but it happened to be for a very good reason!  We sat at the hospital all day waiting the arrival of our new grandson.  Early in the evening he arrived, Maxwell Edward Utley weighing in at a grand total of 9lbs. 12 oz. and measuring at 22 inches!  As one of my friends said "he is as big as our turkey!"

Late that night we took a tired little Jack home with us after having a late dinner at Ruby Tuesday's (thank you Ruby Tuesday for being open and for that nice young waitress, who waited on our table until at least 9:00 and was unfailingly sweet to us) By the way this was at the Ruby Tuesday's nearest the Inova Birthing Inn :).

The next day we took Jack to Monkey Joe's, in Winchester VA, where he received a free Icee from the Manager for "being a new big brother" and we stopped at Martins to make a bouquet of flowers from Jack to his Momma.  We had to get pink and purple as Jack requested, instead of the standard blue for a boy, because Jack knows his Mommy's favorite colors :)

Of course all weekend I bragged on my new grandson and my wonderful daughter and of course I heard the standard "well as long as he is healthy, that's all that matters" at least 2 or 3 times.  After the third time, I really thought about it.  What if he wasn't healthy?  What if he had Down Syndrome or a congenital malformation or a heart problem?  Would I be just as happy?  Would I still be bragging and/or would I share that with strangers?  I know I wouldn't love him any less, if he was ill, of course I would be worried and if he had a chromosomal difference such as Down Syndrome I would be a little sad only because I know it's a harder row to hoe for his family. With greater difference comes more adjustment.

I am pretty sure I would share this information with strangers if only because as I have gotten older, I have become more outspoken.  And because I know, like many others don't, the joy of being with children who seem different to others. 

Of course this is not the story with Max, so I didn't have to think about it at the time I was sharing my news.  Maybe next time though, I will say something like, "The most important thing isn't that he is healthy, it's that he is here and we have one more person to love in this family."

 

 

Just want to share :)

Please watch this Ted presentation by the photographer Rick Guidotti.  He has done some amazing work with kids with differences and his enthusiasm and love of what he is creating is palpable.  It's about 18 minutes, but you'll be happy you took the time :)

A Tirade, well kind of

As most of you know, I am a special education teacher.  When I was younger and in a 2 year college, I was studying to be an elementary school teacher.  Why?  Because everyone told me I was good with children, so it was easy.  Then I took a couple of psychology classes including on one on abnormal psychology.  I found it very interesting and still it was easy.  So then I went on to a 4 year college and majored in elementary school and special education.  It was interesting and easy.  Then I took a class on finding employment for adults with moderate to severe disabilities.  At the same time, I was working for United Cerebral Palsy as a teacher for adults who had been institutionalized all of their lives and were getting ready to be sent into the community.  I enjoyed this, enjoyed my students and knew I could do this.

Many years later now, I have been teaching students with moderate to severe disabilities, mostly multiple disabilities for something like 18 years now.  I like it but here comes the reason for the "tirade".  I can't tell you how many times I have been told, "You must have so much patience" or "I could never do what you do".  No, I don't have patience and if you mean the times I get peed on, pooped on or thrown up on, no one really wants that to happen, it just does.  These comments are often made by other teachers or substitute teachers.  Just tell the truth, you don't want to teach these students and you aren't going to if you have anything to say about it.

So don't.

I have news for you though.  You may be cutting off your nose to spite your face.  You will be missing out on the hard work, but that hard work makes very real changes in the lives of your students.  You will be missing out on the mess, but that mess can be what it takes to teach your student real life skills that may be the difference between a life of choice and one of submission.
You definitely miss out on the chance to work with families who know how to appreciate you for what you do.  And you learn, learn, learn every day in more ways than you can possibly want to :).

I am the lucky one.  Yay for me!

Hard Times/Good Times

Well, we're getting into the second half of the first quarter of school.  I love my work, but it is hard work.  I have some new students with new challenges.  Something nice though, is that the students I have had for a while now (for some it's their third year with me) are really showing growth and maturity.  Children who didn't know how to play with a toy are playing with toys, children who didn't know how to stay in a seat, are staying seated.  Some can eat their food with a fork and spoon independently.  Some can wash their hands, some are beginning to talk.  The steps were small at first but over the longer time period, they have become mighty!

On the home front, my daughter, Krista is now in her 34th week of pregnancy.  She looks beautiful and the doctor says she is giving them an easy job.  We just had a baby shower for her with just her friends, her sister and myself.  She says she was surprised, I hope so :).  We can't wait until Max is born!

My husband just got back from Canada where he had a very enjoyable but cold visit with his brother, sister-in-law and our niece.  He says he has lots of pictures (I haven't seen them yet) and brought back quite a few gifts like the pooping bear keychain he gave me :).

My grandson Jack is still wonderful and he did visit with us last weekend.  We are always so amazed at how smart and handsome he is!  (You would think he was related to me or something).

I will leave you with one of my favorite songs from my very favorite singer, just because it makes me happy.  I hope it makes you happy as well.

                                                  

                                                

                                        

Do I Like Fall?

Hi, I am doing this post as part of a Writer's Workshop.  The subject I chose was "10 Things You Like About Fall". 

Well, first of all, Fall is not my favorite season.  Summer is, followed closely by Spring.  I hate the cold and love the heat.  However, there are a couple of things I do like about Fall.

#1. This guy has his birthday in the Fall.  No, he doesn't look like this anymore, but I can remember   when he did.  He is going to turn a big old 4 this November.
#2.  He is going to have a little brother, also in November.  Two very good reasons to like the Fall :)
#3.  I do like Fall decorations.  The colors are warm and pretty.
#4.  Fall foliage in Northern VA is amazing!  Every day I see it on my way to work.
#5.  School starts.  I don't always like getting up at 5 am, but I do enjoy my job.
#6.  Christmas is coming, with 2 grandchildren, this should get even better :).
#7.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for some snow days this year.  We had none last year :(.

Ok, that's is where I kinda run out of steam.   Like I said before, I really don't like the cold and right now all of the stink bugs in the world are trying to get into warm places, like inside our cars and houses!!! Double and Triple Yuck!!!!!

Here's to a pretty fall, a snowy winter and an early advent of Spring!

Life, school and a visit from Jack.

     Well, here I am 4 weeks into school and Friday was the first day we had a full load of 8 students.  8 students, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and two assistive technology trainers.  Which makes for a very crowded classroom, sigh :(.
     It's been a very busy month, getting used to a new computer program for IEP's, which is not quite ready for us to use, getting used to new students and their parents, getting used to a new principal.  Change can be difficult and is always exhausting in my opinion.  It doesn't mean I won't be happy about the changes, just that I take a while to get used to new things.
     Last weekend I brought Jackson home with me.  He was not very happy about leaving Mommy and driving to Nana's house with Nana.  It's amazing how much it hurts your heart to hear your grandchild cry :(.  He eventually brightened up enough to find Iron Man in Target to buy and to tell me he didn't want to eat out, he wanted macaroni and cheese at Nana's house.  So that's what we did and he was delighted to find out that Pop Pop had been busy shopping and that there was now a new box of dinosaurs to play with and a put-together batcave with a miniature batman.  He already is the owner of a large castle like structure which contains a firehouse and police station.
     We spent a wonderful morning at the Air National Guard Air Show.  Jackson loved looking at the various aircraft and was thrilled to be sitting in a helicopter!  The best part however was the hangar set up as a children's play area with many bounce houses and slides which he loves, especially if there are other children to play with :).  We then went to the zoo on Sunday, but Jack wasn't really into it, he said he wanted to see the lions, but once seen, he gladly walked on.
     He is getting to be such a big boy and almost cuter than one child can possibly be :).

    

A New Year

Well school and started and the kids are back :)  I started out with 5 students who were coming back from previous year/years and then found I had two more and then one more.  8 students are all I can have, 8 students and 2 full time para professionals.  This is because the needs of my students are usually greater than those of students in a more typical early childhood special education class.  And believe me sometimes 3 adults are definitely not enough!  Just to get the kids into and back out of the classroom takes more than 3 pair of hands.  I have to go outside the classroom to get enough help.  Thanks goodness our speech pathologist has some free time to help us.

It's been a difficult start of the year.  Although I stayed in the same school, I was moved to a new classroom and have a new room mate.  I ha vethe only classroom for students with multiple disabilities which shares a classroom with another ECSE class.  We have a lot of equipment besides the wheelchairs we need for out children.  All the kinks are being worked out, though.

It is easy to forget how much new students change the atmosphere of your classroom.  It takes one or two years for many of my students to learn the routines and expectations.  Now these have to be taught all over again to the new students and of course they come with specific learning needs of their own.

And of course it didn't help that I was sick all week :(.  I went to an amazing outdoor concert given by Jason Mraz with my 26 year old daughter, Holly and evidently the high levels of pollen had their way with me.  I have been coughing and wheezing ever since.  I was coughing so hard that I had to go to the doctor to check on my sternum that I broke last year.  I presently have an order for an xray to use if it continues to hurt or gets worse.  I also have instructions from my doctor to not lift anything heavy!  Ha, like that's going to happen :)

All in all, it's been a tiring week and I am truly glad to have a 3 day weekend. I know it's going to be an amazing year.  My experienced students have grown and my new students seem to be a lot of fun.  I am very lucky to be able to love the work I do.